Portable self-contained light



June 21, 1960 G. H. STOUTENBURGH 2,942,102

PORTABLE SELF-CONTAINED LIGHT Filed March 28, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 EATTORNEY 2,9d2,l02 Fatented June El, 1960 PQRTABLE SELF-CONTAINED LIGHT.

Guy H. Stoutenbnrgh, Atlanta, Ga, assignor to Stoutenburgh ManufacturingCo., Inc., Atlanta, Ga, a corporation of Georgia Filed Mar. 28, 1958,Ser. No. 724,587

3 Claims. (Cl. 240-4063) This invention relates to a novelself-contained manually supported light of extremely simpleconstruction, which may be readily carried manually or placed upon asupporting surface in either a horizontal or vertical position, or whichcan be readily secured to a handle bar, small tree branch or otherobject of substantially circular cross section.

Another object of the invention is to provide a selfcontaincd portablelight which may be readily secured to the body or fender of a vehicle orto substantially any other supporting surface;

Still another object of the invention is to provide a portable light, ofextremely simple construction and which can be dismantled by the removalof a single screw fastening for replacing the battery, light source orcontrol 7 switch thereof.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a portable lighthaving a novel arrangement of electrical conductors electricallyconnecting the battery or current source to the switch and light sourceand which involves no wires, binding posts, screws or other forms offastenings requiring disconnection and connection when the light isdismantled or assembled, respectively.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a portable lightwherein the novel electrical connections additionally function asresilient retaining means for re taining the light source immovable inthe casing when the casing is assembled.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafterbecome more fully apparent from the following description of thedrawings, illustrating a presently preferred embodiment thereof, andwherein:

Figure l is atop plan view of the portable light;

Figure 2 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view thereof, takensubstantially along a plane as indicated by the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary front elevational view thereof with the lightsource removed;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view, taken substantiallyalong a plane as indicated by the line 44 of Figure 2; j

Figure 5 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view taken substantiallyalong a plane as indicated by the line 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view of the casing, takensubstantially along a plane as indicated by the line 66 of Figure 2;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of a part of the uppersection of the casing;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of a part of the lowersection of the casing, and

Figure 9 is a central vertical sectional view of an attachment for usewith the portable light.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the selfcontained portablelight in its entirety is designated generally lit and includes anelongated casing, designated generally 11, which is composed of a bottomsection 12 and a top section 13. The sections 12 and 13 are providedwith externally and internally reduced interfitting edge portionsforming a joint 14 where the sections are connected and which jointextends across the rear end 15 of the casing 11 and along both sidesthereof. The part of the joint formed by the upper section 13 overliesand is disposed externally of the part of the joint formed by the lowersection 12. The casing 11 includes a partition or bulkhead which isdisposed transversely thereof and which is composed of a lower part 16,forming a part of the lower section 12, and an upper part 17, whichconstitutes a part of the upper section 13. Said partition or bulkhead16, 1'7 divides the casing 11 into a rear chamber 18 and a front chamber19.

The rear chamber 18 is completely closed when the sections 12 and 13 areassembled and is of substantially rectangular shape in cross section, asseen in Figure 6, and is adapted to accommodate a self-contained currentsource such as aconventional six volt battery 20. The frontpart of thecasing 11, defining the chamber 19, is flared and is of substantiallycircular form in cross section and is provided with a circular openforward end having an annular internal groove 21 of a proper size andshape to snugly receive a rim portion 22 of a conventional sealed beamlamp unit 23. The bottom portion of the casing immediately behind thegroove ll is provided with a socket 24- to receive a tit or projection25 of the unit 23 and whereby said unit is prevented from turning in thecasing 11, and for maintaining the two electrical contacts 26 and 27 ofthe sealed beam unit 23 in vertical alignment.

An actuator part of a conventional toggle electric switch, designatedgenerally 23, extends through and is secured in an opening 2d of theupper casing section 13 and projects into the upper part of the forwardchamber 19, above and behind the sealed beam unit 23.

A long bolt 39. extends downwardly through an opening 31 or" the uppercasing section 13 and engages a groove 32 in the forward sides of thebulkhead sections 16 and 17. The threaded lower end of the bolt 30extends through a hollow internal boss 33 in the casing bottom 34 andengages a nut 35 which is secured immovably in a downwardly openingsocket 36 of the internal boss The bolt 30 and nut .35 constitute asingle fastening by means of which the casing sections 12 and 13 aredetachably secured together.

Two electrical conductor elements 37 and 38, formed of resilient metalstampings, are mounted on the upper bulkhead section 17. The conductorelements 37 and 38 are disposed primarily on the forward side of thebulkhead section 17 but have portions 39 engaging the rear side of saidbulkhead section and which extend through notches 4b in the edge of saidbulkhead section 17, as best seen in Figure 7. Said portions 39resiliently grip the bulkhead section to releasably clamp the conductorelements 37' and 33 thereto. The conductor element 38 has an angularextension 41 which extends across the bottom edge of the bulkheadsection 17, adjacent the groove 32, and which projects downwardlytherefrom. Tongues 42 are struck from the conductor elements 37 and 38and extend rearwardly through openings 43 of the bulkhead section 17 andare bent upwardly against the rear side thereof for anchoring saidconductor elements 37 and 38 immovably to said bulkhead section, as seenin Figure 5.

The conductor element 37 includes a resilient contact strip 44 whichextends forwardly from the inner edge thereof and which has atransversely extending free end portion 45 which yieldably bears againstthe rear side of the upper contact 27 of the sealed beam unit 2 3. Theconductor elements 37 and 38 have resilient arms 46 and 47,respectively, which extend upwardlyand forwardly from their inner edges.The free ends of said resilient arms 46 and 47 are detachably connectedto the ends of a conventional switch member 48 which forms a part of theswitch 28, and by means of which an electrical connection 'is madebetween the switch 28 and said conductor elements 37 and 38.

The lower bulkhead section 16 likewise supports two stampings 49 and 54}of spring metal and which constitute electrical conductor elements. Saidstampings 49 and 50 are disposed against the rear side of the bulkheadsection 16. The conductor element 49 is substantially U-shaped, as seenin Figure 5, and has its terminals bent forwardly and back uponthemselves to provide portions 51 and 52 which yieldably bear againstthe forward side of the bulkhead section 16 and which extend throughnotches 53 in the upper edge of said bulkhead section 16, as seen inFigure 8. The stamping 49 has struck-out tongues 54 which extendforwardly through openings 55 of the bulkhead section 16 and which arebent upwardly on the forwardly side thereof to anchor said conductorelement 49 immovably to the bulkhead section 16. The conductor element49 includes a contact strip 56 which projects forwardly from its frontterminal portion 51 and which hasa transversely extending 'free end 57which yieldably bears against the rear side of the lower contact 26 ofthe sealed beam unit 23, as best seen in Figure 2.

The conductor element or stamping 50 is disposed on the rear side of thepartition member 16, within and spaced from the stamping 49, as seen inFigure 5, and has laterally spaced furcations 58 at its upper end whichengage over the upperv edge of the bulkhead section 16 and yieldablyagainst portions of the front side thereof and which straddle the groove32. A tongue 59 forms an extension of a portion of the lower end of thestamping and extends forwardly through another opening of the bulkheadsection 16 and is bent upwardly on the forward side thereof to cooperatewith the resilient furcations 58 to immovablyanchor the conductorelement or stamping 50 to said bulkheadsection 16. It will be apparentthat when the casing sections 12 and 13 areassembled that the conductorelements 37 and 38 will be maintained out of electrical engagementwith'the conductor element 49 by the fact that the portions 39 arerecessed in the upper bulkhead section 17 by the notches 40 and theportions 51 and 52 are similarly recessed in the lower bulkhead section16 by the notches 53. However, the conductor element 38 is electricallyconnected to the conductor element 50 by the portion 41 thereof whichdirectly contacts one of the furcations 58, as seen in Figures 4 and 5.The bulkhead sections 16 and 17 are formed of electrical insulatingmaterial so that the conductor elements 37 and 38 are electricallyinsulated from one another as are also the conductor elements 49 and 50.

The battery 20 has two spring contacts, center positive contact 64} andcorner. negative contact 61, extending from its forward end. The contact60 yieldably bears against a part of the conductor element 50 and thecontact 61 yieldably bears against a part of the conductor element 49,as seen in Figures 2 and 4. When the toggle switch 28 is moved to acircuit closing position, current flows from'the battery through thenegative contact 61 thereof to the conductor element 49, through theconductor portions 51, 56 and 57 to the contact 26 of the sealed beamunit 23, through the filament of the light source of said unit, notshown, to'the other contact 27, through the conductor portions 45, 44,37 and 46 to and across the switch part 48, through arm 47 to conductorelement 38, through the portion' 41 thereof to conductor element 50,which portion 41 engages, andback to the battery through the positivecontact 60. It will be apparent that the circuit is broken when thetoggle switch 28 is manually moved to a circuit interrupting position.

As previously stated, the bulkhead sections 16 and 17 are formed ofelectrical insulating material, said sections and the remainder of thecasing 11 are preferably formed of a substantially nonbreakable plasticmaterial. The

casing 11 in addition to having a flat underside or bottom 34 forengaging a supporting surface to mount the casing in substantially ahorizontal position, has a flat rear end 15 which can engage asupporting surface to mount the light 10 in an upright or verticalposition.

The upper casing section 13 has a top wall portion 62 covering the rearchamber- 18 and the forward part of which is provided withlongitudinallyspaced inwardly extending hollow bosses 63 and 64, in each of which anut 65 is anchored. Said bosses 63 and 64 are formed in an upwardlyoffset forward portion 66 of said top wall portion 62, which portion 66is provided with a transverse substantially semicircular groove 67 whichis disposed between the bosses 63 and 64 and which is disposed crosswiseof the casing 11: An'elongated carrying handle 68 is disposed above andlongitudinally of said top portion 62 and has a downwardly extendingshank 69 at its forward end which bears on the upper side of saidupwardly offset top portion 66. Screws70and 71 extend downwardlythrough'portions ofthe shank 69 which rests upon the top portion 66. Thescrew 70 extends downwardly through the boss 63 and threadedly engagesthe nut 65 thereof and the screw 71 extends downwardly through the boss64 and threadedly engages the other nut 65 for detachably securing thehandle 68 to the casing section 13. The shank 69 is provided with asubstantially semicircular .groove 72 which extends transversely of thehandle 68 and which is disposed directly abovethe groove 67, when thehandle 68 is secured to the upper casing section 13, so that the grooves67 and 72 combine to form a transverse substantially circular bore. Theshank 69 is preferably provided with' ribs 73, as seen in Figure 2,which project into the groove 72 thereof and which extend longitudinallyand parallel of the bore 67, 72. Theends of the ribs 73 are spaced fromthe endsof the grooves 72. The'rear free end of the handle 68 preferablyextends to approximately the plane of the rear end 15 of the casing 11but does not extend therebeyond so that the handle will not prevent thelight 10 being supported stably upon its rear end :15. The handle 68 isprovided with a flat top surface 74 and with two openings 75 and 76,which 1 extend through said top surface. The light 10 may be invertedfrom its position of Figures 1 and 2 and the flat handle surface 74 maybe placed against a supporting surface and secured thereto by suitablefastenings, not shown, inserted through the handle openings 75 and 76,for permanently mounting the light on any desired support. In addition,the opening 75 is disposed to receive a screw driver, not shown, forapplying or removing the screw 71. The screw 70 is exposed so that itcan be readily applied or removed with a screw driver.

In manually carrying the light 10 the index finger is inserted throughthe bore 67, 72 and the other fingers "engagearound the handle 68. Thethumb of the hand employed to support the light 10 is free to operatethe toggle switch 28. The handle 68 can also be removed and re-appliedaround a circular object such as a handle bar or small tree limb whichis gripped in the bore 67, 72 for supporting the light 10. The ribs 73are sufficiently yieldable for gripping engagement with an object whichmay be slightly tapered or which is slightly smaller than the bore 67,72, to resist turning of the light when applied to such objects and tomaintain the light with its axis disposed substantially crosswise of atapered object.

It will be readily apparent that it is only necessary to remove thescrew 30 to completely dismantle the light 10. As the upper casingsection 13 is removed from the lower casing section 12 the resilientstrip portion 45 will slide out of engagement with the contact 27, afterwhich the battery 20, the sealed beam unit 23 or the switch 28 may beremoved and replaced. In reassembling the casing sections the resilientcontact portion 45 will slide back into engagement with the contact 27as the casing section is applied to the casing section 12. The light 10is secured assembled by merely re-applying the single screw 30. Thus itwillbe apparent that no wires are included in the electric circuit andthere are no fastenings in connection with the electric circuit to beconnected or disconnected in assembling or dismantling the light 10.Fur-- ther, the spring strips 44 and 56 by their yieldable contact withthe contacts 26 and 27 function as springs to hold the sealed beam unit23 against any movement or vibration relative to the casing 11 andthereby eliminate the need of separate springs for this purpose. Thecasing 11 and handle 68, being of plastic, may be of various colors andmay be of various contrasting colors if desired.

A suction cup 77, as seen in Figure 9, has an internally threaded sleeve78 extending through the center there of and projecting from its convexside. The exposed upper end of the sleeve 78 is adapted to fit looselyin the socket 36 and said sleeve 38 is adapted to threadedly engage theend of the bolt 30 which protrudes from the nut 35 for detachablysecuring the suction cup 77 to the bottom 34 of the casing 11. Whenapplied, the suction cup 77 can be utilized for detachably mounting thelight on a smooth surface such as a vehicle fender or other part of avehicle, boat or other device.

The joint 14 and the other openings of the casing 11 may be providedwith suitable sealing gaskets so that the casing will be Watertight whenassembled.

Various modifications and changes are contemplated and may be resortedto, without departing from the function or scope of the invention ashereinafter defined by the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A portable light including an elongated casing composed of a topsection and a bottom section, a single fastening detachably securingsaid sections together, a transverse bulkhead forming a part of thecasing and separating the casing into a rear compartment and a frontcompartment, said bulkhead comprising sections forming parts of thecasing sections, a self-contained current source detachably mounted inthe rear casing compartment including spaced electrical contactsdisposed adjacent the bulkhead, said casing having an open forward endprovided with an annular internal channel, a light source having a rimportion seating in said channel and closing the forward end of thecasing and having a portion ineluding spaced electrical contactsextending into said forward compartment, said bulkhead sections beingformed of electrical insulating material, and conductor elementsconnected to and supported by said bulkhead sections in engagement withthe contacts of the light source and current source and forming anelectric circuit between the current source and light source, a manuallyoperable switch extending through and supported by the upper casingsection, certain of said conductor elements being supported by thebulkhead section of the lower casing section and other of said conductorelements, supported by the bulkhead section of the upper casing section,being detachably connected to said switch for interposing the switch inthe electric circuit.

2. A portable light as in claim 1, said first mentioned conductorelements having parts disposed on the rear side of the bulkhead andengaging the contacts of the current source, and certain of said firstmentioned and last mentioned conductor elements having parts disposed onthe forward side of the bulkhead and yieldably engaging the contacts ofthe light source.

3. A portable light as in claim 1, a handle disposed longitudinally ofthe casing, means detachably securing the handle to the upper casingsection, portions of the handle and upper casing section combining toform a bore disposed crosswiseof the casing in which a supportingelement is adapted to be clamped for mounting the portable lightthereon, said handle including a grip portion spaced from the casing andhaving a flat outer side adapted to bear against asupporting surface,said grip portion being provided with fastening receiving openingsadapted to receive fastenings for securing the grip portion against thesupporting surface.

